Tainted Soul
by xsoulessxgingerx
Summary: Tom Riddle's daughter, Eris, has come to Hogwarts with Draco Malfoy and Bellatrix's only daughter, Andromeda Lestrange. Their task? Simple. Kill Albus Dumbledore. Warning: mentions child abuse
1. Time to Kill

**Alright, so I stayed home sick from school today and I've got a little bit of muse still in me, so I figured I'll try and be a bit creative. The story's set throughout the sixth book.**

**I own nothing except for Eris and Andromeda**

**I'm not quite sure if it'll be a one-shot, but if I get enough reviews, then I'll probably keep going.**

The house that I had arrived at was rather large compared to the others that I had been to over the years. My father had sent me here, to the Malfoys, because I had a job to do. I don't know one other person that would send his own daughter out on a mission like this, with all the dangers of being caught. Of course, my father was a very unique man, in some eyes great, in some eyes monstrous, but to me he was a father nonetheless.

I was greeted at the gate by no other than Lucius Malfoy. He was a very gracious man, for the most part. If I were not his master's daughter, I was certain he would have treated me much different. A dirty little house elf led the way to the house, dragging my bag behind him. I would have had the urge to kick it, if Lucius hadn't done it first. _Disgusting little creature._ I thought to myself.

Inside, my eyes met a pleasant smile from Narcissa. I had met her once before at one of my father's meetings, but I did not know her all too well. I looked around the room, certainly not interested in staring at an old hag for the time I was here. I was looking for her son, Draco, of course if he looked anything like his parents, it would be a tragedy. He was supposedly my companion in this mission, here to guide me and assist me when I needed him.

My gaze landed to the top of the marble staircase where he stood. Draco was tall and thin, and so pale that I could barely distinguish his skin from the white wall behind him. His hair was a lot like his fathers, although it was cut much shorter, to my luck. His grey eyes were a couple shades lighter than mine, boring into my face. He gave me a curt nod and my stomach lifted a little.

Lucius beckoned for his son to come downstairs, he hesitated for a moment, but then fallowed his father's instructions. He turned to me, "your train will leave at 11 O'clock. As soon as the girl gets here, my son will take you there."

Narcissa stood, "Lucius, the girl, is my niece, and you will treat her as such. She is part of this family. Bellatrix will not be happy if she finds you treating her daughter in any other way but with upmost respect."

Lucius held his gaze evenly with his wife, until turning away and stalking off silently.

I heard a cackle in the distance and with a loud crack two figures aparated before me. Bellatrix Lestrange eyed me as she strode around the room. Her daughter, Andromeda, grinned at me. "It has been such a long time, "she said with a giggle.

I smirked, Ann and I hadn't seen each other since we were little, but she still looked basically the same, with her wild, black hair almost engulfing her whole face. Her deep, dark green eyes, penetrated her face, differing from her grey colored skin.

Draco stood there silently, not speaking one word; he didn't seem to be anything like his father.

Narcissa nodded towards the fire place, handing me a little pot of floo powder. "Go on dear." The next thing I knew, I was standing in an office, a train whistle blowing from outside the closed door.

Not soon after me, Ann stumbled to my side from the fire place, and Draco fallowed, a little more slowly. He opened the door from the office, to the train station and beckoned for us to go through. With one long stride, he was at my side. "You two will have to be sorted with the first years I'm afraid," he smirked, "but there's no doubt that you'll end up in Slytherin with me."

I nodded curtly, "I guess we'll just wait and see, right?"

"There's one thing that I've been wondering though."

I nodded for him to continue.

"If you didn't use fake names to get into Hogwarts, and the old bloke, Dumbledore, know exactly who you're father is, then why exactly did he let you in the damn school in the first place?"

"Simple," I said, "There's no way he could prove my ever meeting with my father. I've supposedly been living in an orphanage for years, after my mother past away. The ministry can't deny an innocent child an education just because of her past." I smiled at him briefly, our eyes meeting for a moment. "Don't worry, father's got it all figured out."

I turned away for a moment, continuing down the bright corridor of the London train station. Bloody muggles bumped me from every direction and I had an urge to whip out my wand and curse them all, but of course because of my current position, I wasn't allowed to.

Ann skipped behind me coming up to me and hissing in my ear, "I swear if I hear another stupid child cry, I'll just use the Cruciatus curse on all of them."

I frowned even more, "Draco, are we almost to platform? I'm afraid if we don't hurry we'll have many more problems to worry about other than this whole mission."

I small a hint of a smile rise on Draco's lips as he pointed to a brick pillar. I'd read up on how to work this magic so I ran straight at it, going through what seemed like a solid wall, and soon ending up in front of a large steam train.

Draco appeared beside me, "Father's already put our bags on the train, so we can just get on now."

The large wall on the clock read 20 minutes to 11, which meant we still had time to kill. No, not literally.

**Alright, that's all for now :) Read & Review PLEASEE**

**XsoulessXgingerX**


	2. Unwelcomed Arrival

**OK, I was super anxious to keep writing so I just came up with another chapter. Thanks for all the reviews you guys game me :D**

** And again, I own nothing except for Eris and Andromeda**

Draco guided us to a small compartment towards the end of the train. He was a prefect, whatever the bloody hell that was, and he was meant to sit in the front of the train, but I suppose that for this occasion, he'd have to make an exception. He slid the hefty, wooden door closed behind us and took a seat across from Andromeda and me, "We haven't really talked about this much, "he began.

I eyed him suspiciously, "Talked about what?"

Draco looked at me as if I were mad. He leaned in closer to the center of the compartment and hissed, "Well, you know, this whole mission that _your_ father sent us on."

I nodded, waiting for him to continue, but he said nothing.

"What exactly do you need to know?"

He shook his head impatiently, "I don't need to know anything," he said, "I've already been briefed and all, but shouldn't we have like, I dunno, some sort of plan, or something."

I raised my eyebrows, "Plan? I think it's pretty simple, don't you? We kill the old man and go back home with our dignity."

The blonde boy buried his pointy face in his hands, "It's not that easy. Dumbledore may be an old fool, but he's a great wizard, even my father can't deny that."

I snorted, "Draco Malfoy, your father is a coward, and that's exactly why the dark lord, my father, trusted _me_ on this mission and not one of his bloody death eaters. If you ask me, taking down the old nutter should be a simple task."

Draco stood up defensively, "My father is not a—."

I cut him off by placing a slender hand on his chest, "No need to get defensive, Draco. You should be honored that my father has picked you to help us." I lifted my hand to his face, running it through his hair, "We need you." He was silent for a little while afterwards so I dropped my hand again, "Unless of course, you'd like to run home, crying to daddy," I sneered.

Draco glared at me, "If I went home now my father would. . ." He trailed off slowly, "Never mind, it doesn't matter, I suspect we'll be leaving soon."

I didn't pester him any further on the subject, although I had become rather suspicious of the boy's behavior about his father. One moment he was defensive and the next moment it was like he wanted nothing to do with the man. I suppose that there was nothing I really could have done.

Ann sunk down in her seat and huffed, "This train smells like my father, rotten and infested with worms."

I looked at her with a disgusted face. Ann's father had died around the same year as my mum had. The thought of them rotting underground made my stomach feel queasy. Imagining rotting flesh and what it smelled like wasn't exactly on my top 10 list, if you know what I mean.

I must have dozed off eventually because of my long nights travel, but after a rather dreamless sleep, I felt a hand on my shoulder, shaking me awake. Draco stood over me, his light grey eyes blinking down on me. "Rise and shine, babe, we're here."

I rose, shaking the sleep off and getting to my feet. Ann and Draco were already in their robes of course, so I had to hurriedly slip mine on so that I could fallow them off the train.

As we stepped off the train and towards the carriages that were supposed to transport us to the castle, I stepped back in disgust, "What _are_ those thing?"

"Be quiet!" Hissed Draco and I shot him a glare which made his eyes soften, "Sorry, not everyone can see them, you know. Only if you've seen death. Like Potter." Draco spat his name as if it was poison burning through his tongue.

"Can—can you see them?"

Draco and Ann both shook their heads and I shivered, "Lucky you." The retched things were absolutely disgusting. No wonder the resembled death. I tried to avoid looking at them as I traveled up to the large castle.

**3****rd**** person POV **

**Yay finally not in Eris's evil mind :P It's going to be mostly focused around Harry and his friends though**

Harry took a seat at the long Gryffindor table and waited for the first years to finally be sorted. He looked up at their nervous faces as they stood before the whole crowd of older students, and remembered how he had felt the first time he was up there.

Most of the first years were sorted normally; mostly Hufflepuffs, then some Ravenclaws, and the number of Gryffindor and Slytherin students were about even. The trio sat and waited for Dumbledore to make his speech, but it never came.

Instead, two girls rose from the back and stepped forward. McGonagall lifted the list up again and read off of it.

Ron lent over to whisper in Harry's ear, "Is it just me or did those first years hit puberty a little early?" Hermione smacked him with a book.

"Andromeda!" McGonagall called the first name. A girl with dark frizzy, hair stepped up and sat on the chair. The hat pondered a few seconds before yelling out, "Slytherin!" She jumped up off the stool, a smile and a giggle rising on her lips. She had the crazed look in her eyes as she skipped off towards the Slytherin table. However, she didn't sit down; instead, she stood and waited for the other girl.

The next name that was called rang even louder and clearer than the first one, "Eris!" A pale girl stepped forward, as she turned to sit her eyes met with his. He felt a prickle and his scar and had the urge to lift his hand to sooth it, but decided against it. There was something in her face that looked so hauntingly familiar.

"Oi," Ron whispered, "Do any of them have bloody last names?"

Harry stayed silent, deciding not to speak.

Before he could even look up, he heard the hat bellow, "Slytherin!"

Hermione glanced over at Harry and Ron, "Did you see the hat even touch her head?" Both boys shrugged.

Both girls met at the end of the Slytherin table, and then walked towards the middle. Eris slid in between Pansy and Malfoy, and the Andromeda shoved Parkinson down even further to make room for herself. Pansy let out an angry hiss as she was pushed further away from her ex-boyfriend and the Andromeda girl smiled wickedly at her, making a shiver run down Harry's spine.

Malfoy looked over at him and smirked, raising his eyebrows.

"Perfect," Harry said, "just what we need, a more arrogant Malfoy and two more of his Slytherin whores."

**R & R please :D We're going to get a little romancier next chapter and then the action will start to arise, hopefully.**

**Thanxx,**

**XsoulessXgingerX**


	3. Anger without Enthusiasm

**Alright, now the romance begins to bubble up. I'm hoping to make this chapter a little longer than the last ones, but we'll see.**

**Do I really need to put another disclaimer in? You know the drill.**

**And now we're back into first person with Eris.**

Later that night, I sat in the common room, on one of the many black sofas, facing a cold, empty wall. Draco came, not five minutes after I'd arrived, and sat beside me. "You look very thoughtful." He said.

I nodded slightly, "Just thinking."

"About what?"

I sighed and shook my head, "Never mind, Draco, it doesn't matter."

The blond reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver coin, "Sickle for your thoughts?"

I laughed, "Shame on you, Malfoy, for even knowing that bloody muggle term."

The boy cracked a grin at me and put the coin back into his pocket, turning himself to sit facing me.

"I'd be the richest girl in all of London if you counted my thoughts in money, dear boy."

I leaned a little closer to the boy, so that we almost touched, "Tell me something Draco?"

"Shoot."

I grinned again, "Hope you didn't mean that literally." I saw a smile inch up on his face. "Why are you sad all the time? You act like if you enjoyed life, it'd kill you."

Draco's smile vanished completely from his face, and of course the sadness was back. Sometimes I honestly wondered what made him so damn depressing all the time, and I was hoping that I was about to find out. His mouth parted, and for a moment he said nothing, but then he muttered, "You have no idea."

I slid even closer now, placing my hand on top of his. It was cold, I mean even colder than I expected it to be. It reminded me, somewhat, of my father, like whenever you touched him you felt like you were just that much closer to death. "You know Draco; depression is just anger without enthusiasm. So be angry, rather than sad, and help me bring down the old man so I can get out of these bloody robes and back home, wherever that may be."

Draco didn't pull his hand away, but rather slid it from under mine. He pulled back the sleeve of his robes and showed me his bare wrist, "It's easier for you to say when you don't have this damned mark on _your_ wrist." He covered his wrist again, and to my surprise, reached for my hand, bringing it to one pale cheek and holding it there.

I brought my other hand forward, delicately placing it in his other hand, to warm it, and he brought it to his lips kissing it. "And that is exactly why we're here, Draco," I hissed, "to show my father how loyal of a death eater you'll be to him, and of course, to make yours proud."

Draco dropped my hands, "Don't mention him anymore." The sorrow had now returned to his eyes once more, making them darker and cloudier. Just when I thought I had gotten somewhere with him, he'd turn around and make it obvious that he didn't want to share anything with me.

I frowned, "Draco, what's with you and your stupid father, either you like him or you don't, either you want his approval, or you don't, you have to pick one!"

Draco's brows had narrowed now, "You don't understand at all, no one ever does. If you were like me, then you'd understand."

"Draco, how am I supposed to bloody get it if you won't even tell me?"

This time he said nothing, but yet again moved his hand to his sleeve and pulled it up. I'd already seen the damn dark mark, what else could he possibly show me. He didn't stop at the wrist, rather pulled the sleeve all the way up so his whole upper arm was exposed. I would have gasped in shock if I hadn't had such control over my emotions. His whole arm was covered in bruises; they varied from light to dark, some old and some new.

I glanced up at the boy's face, which was full of pain, physical and mental. "He did this to you?" I managed to his, showing a little more concern than I had originally planned to do.

He nodded slowly, "If you've ever felt the Cruciatus Curse, and know that your own father was using it on you, then maybe you'd know how I feel." He quickly rolled the sleeve of his robe over the evidence, "I've got hundreds more where that came from. Earning father's respect and honor would solve a lot of problems, but I'm not even sure I want his approval anymore. I don't think it's worth what I've gone through to just give in now."

I put my hand on Draco's back and rubbed it, "If I knew anything to say to you in this situation, I might, but unfortunately, being comforting and showing emotion isn't exactly a big trait in my family history."

He nodded curtly, and I saw the corners of his mouth turn up a bit, "Honestly it doesn't matter to me how you show it, but it's obvious that you care."

I nodded sympathetically.

I felt my heart skip a beat as he took hold of my hands again and turned to look me in the eye, "I don't care how damn unromantic this dungeon is, your still one of the most beautiful girls I've ever seen in my life."

I felt my cheeks burn and was sure that they'd turned several shades brighter than they originally were. I lifted a hand to his head and ran it through his straight, blonde hair.

Slowly, he leaned forward, caressing my cheek with his hand, which now felt cooling instead of giving me a feeling that reminded me of death. I titled my head, meeting his lips instantly. I felt a warming sensation spread throughout my body, guiding its way from my lips, all the way down to my toes. Draco's lips were warm, and he smelled like cold rain landing on hot pavement.

At that moment, I almost felt like I was under the effects of Amortentia, the most powerful love potion in the world, and yet, the sensation that I felt was certainly not artificial. I had no will to break apart from Draco, but at one point it was enough.

I stared deep into his handsome grey eyes as we broke apart, not wanting to break eye contact with him.

"Wow." A whisper escaped Draco's lips, "Honestly, I wasn't excepting that."

I made one of the girliest giggles possible as he said that, but quickly moved a hand to cover my mouth.

Draco grinned, "That was adorable." He stood, holding his hand out to let me up. "It's getting late, I suggest you head off to bed, to get an early start for tomorrow. We may only have easy classes tomorrow, but you'll need your rest."

I nodded, smiling up at him, god how I loved tall boys.

"Good Night my Greek Goddess." Draco said as he glided towards his dorms.

"Good Night, Dragon" I whispered as I watched him go."

I lay in bed that night, feeling more accomplished than ever. I was ready to do this now; I was ready to do what I was sent here to do. Not only that, but I was going to do it with a new companion at my side. "Good Night, Dragon." I whispered again as I drifted off into a deep, calming sleep.

**Alright, that's it for not. If you wondering, Draco calls her a Greek Goddess because she got her name from the Greek Goddess of Discord and Destruction, Eris, sister of Ares, God of War. Ahh, yep that's it for now, next chapter's gonna get a bit more intense because I'm going to add the **_**Golden Trio**_** to the mix. So, enjoy and R&R please.**

**Thanxx,**

**XsoulessXgingerX**


	4. I Think That Went Well

**Now we're in Malfoy's point of view for a while. Keep in mind that he's much more sophisticated than the girls so the writing style's going to be a bit different.**

**And the disclaimer still hasn't changed…sorry to disappoint **

Awaking from another nightmare, I wiped away the small beads of sweat that had formed above my brow. I honestly speculated how long it would take me to convince myself that things would get better. Although sometimes I supposed that perhaps I'd never get over my fear, but I soon pushed the thought from my mind.

I swung my bare, cold feet over the edge of the four post bed upon which I slept. It didn't feel like a home at this retched school, yet I would rather be here than at my real home. Born to a man that does not accept any aspect of the way I run my life. I am forced to do anything within my nature to please him. The real truth is that I don't want to be a death eater because it is the side that I choose, but I wish to please my father . . . as well as protect my family for the immediate suffering that would ensue if I were to betray the dark lord.

I had come up with a quite clever plan to protect myself from Lord Voldemort if I ever did get into trouble. I would penetrate him in the only weak spot possible, his daughter. At first these were my initial thoughts about Eris, my master's child. And then incidentally when I first lay eyes on her, my heart began to race in my chest. Her beauty was as radiant as a thousand suns. Her voice was as smooth and steady as honey, it soothed me. When I talked to Eris, I felt like I had known her practically my whole life, like I could trust her with my soul. Like I could give her my heart and know that she would not crush it along with her enemies. I, Draco Malfoy, was strong, never weak. Never had a girl had this much affect over my emotional side, it could not be normal.

It was early when first rose from my sleep. In fact the first lights of dawn had barely pierced the horizon which was tucked behind the hills. I enjoyed the night much more than I looked forward to the mornings. The moon was nothing like the sun; it was mysterious, lighting the path to those who could not see on the darkest of nights. The moon was a king to the stars; a powerful omen to those who could believe it. I envied the moon.

Making my way towards the common room was slightly more difficult when the sun was not yet up and candles were not lighting my path. I pulled my hawthorn wand from the pocket in my robes and whispered, "lumos," avoiding a near collision with a dungeon wall.

As I entered the common room I nearly jumped backwards in shock. Andromeda was sitting cross legged in the middle of the floor, her eyes stared unblinking ahead of her, yet her chest rose steadily. "Draco," She whispered in a cold, quiet voice, "what are you doing up at this time."

I was too shocked to move my lips as her eyes pierced straight into me, as if she were searching something within my gaze. Finally I managed to part my lips into a mutter, "Bad dream. Are you always up this early?"

She cocked her head sideways as if this would help her understand my language. "I always rise with the sun, Draco. Besides this is the time that mother always gives me lessons."

I stepped around her to make my way to one of the sofas, "Lessons?"

Her voice was monotone, as if she were talking from death. "Mother is a skilled witch, Draco. The dark lord says I am a seer; that I can see into the future. Mother believes him, of course. Every morning she teaches me things out of her books, I'm becoming quite skilled at it, you see."

"I see."

There was a second's pause before she stood and turned to face me, a broad grin across her face. "Draco, I've seen it!"

"What?" After the word had left my tongue, I already wish I had not said it for I knew exactly what she was going to say next.

"We will succeed!" Her smile seemed to widen as she saw the smirk come upon my lips.

Perhaps I would please my father after all. Perhaps I would in fact in the act of a miracle return home with my dignity. Perhaps I would finally be accepted. Perhaps the dark lord would think I was deserving of his dark mark.

I sat back, leaning against the leather backing and sighed. _Things are looking up for you, Draco. _I smiled inwardly to myself. Silence overtook me for mere minutes until Eris finally glided into the dimly lit room. Her nightgown flowed a little ways above her knee and her silk robe floated off her body as she walked gracefully in my direction.

Last night's endeavors were clearly not forgotten as Eris gave me a peck on the cheek. "Sleep well?" She asked.

I nodded, caught in the moment hoping that Andromeda would not utter anything about my previous nightmare, which of course she did.

"Malfoy!" She hissed from the floor, "I thought you said that you had a bad dream that woke you up so early. Or am I wrong?"

I let out a deep breath and shot Andromeda a death glare, wishing that for once it could be more than just an expression.

"You know, Draco," Eris intertwined her fingers through mine, "You can talk to me about things like bad dreams, you know." She smiled deviously at me through her black bangs, "After all I am commonly the cause of many nightmares."

I gave her a kiss on the forehead, but said nothing. Eris smoothed my hair down from its unnatural state and moved back towards the hallway, "Seeing as I am the only one who failed to get dressed, I'll go freshen up and then we can go up for some breakfast."

As she left I looked down on myself remembering that I had in fact slept in my robes last night, too tired to even pull on a pair of old trousers to sleep in.

As we entered the great hall, there were a surprising number of students up at the early hour to feast before class. Of course Potter was already sitting at a table, with the mudblood at one side and Weasly on the other. How a pure blood wizard, even one like Harry Potter, could stand to be with a muggle born and a blood traitor was beyond me.

"That's him then isn't it?" Andromeda fallowed my gaze towards the golden trio, "The boy with the scar?"

I nodded as we headed for something to eat and Eris scowled, "That stupid boy defeated _my_ father? That one there? Sitting with the mudblood?"

I turned my head to look at her as we finally sat down at a long table. "Yes," I answered, "But how did you know her blood status?"

Eris snorted, "Oh please, I could smell her stench from all the way over here. Filth like her don't belong in this school." I felt a slight glow inside as she was one of the first people that was as thoroughly repulsed my Granger as I was.

"And the carrot top sitting next to him. That must be a Weasly."

I nodded.

Eris grimaced, "They really do breed much too fast. I thought the older one who works for the Ministry of Magic was a pest as well."

I stuffed a plain piece of toast in my mouth, "You were in the Ministry of Magic?"

Eris gave me a curt nod, "Ann and I had to go through several tests before we were finally allowed to come here. And yet here I am; a spy on the inside."

Breakfast with the two girls flew by much too quickly. Crabbe and Goyle were much to dim to actually carry out a descent conversation with, and although I questioned Andromeda's insanity, I did find her opinions rather worthy of listening to.

Luckily enough, our first class of the day was in fact Potions and although there was a new teacher, I doubted that he'd be much worse than Snape. Potions was easy enough with years of extra tutoring, and new teachers always tried to teach you as little as possible on their first day.

I made haste to head to the new teachers class, hoping to at least make a good impression on one of the teachers this year. With the girls to the left of me, I overtook several students without any actually touching any of them, until I bumped into a small, dark-haired boy, knocking his books from his hands.

"Why don't you watch where you going, Potter?"

"Bug off, Malfoy." Weasley stepped up to stand next to his friend. He looked so high and mighty even though he was a fraud. A muggle lover. A blood traitor.

Granger came up next to the two of them; a scowl set on her small, ugly face, "And take the tramps with you."

A flame flared inside me and I grabbed for the wand in my pocket, "You'll pay for that, mudblood!"

Suddenly a hand was on a chest and Eris's voice coursed through the air, "Draco," She said smoothly, kissing me on the cheek. "I think I can handle this." I was reluctant not to teach the stupid golden trio a lesson in respect for their superiors, but I lowered my wand to my side, keeping it at the ready.

Weasley snorted, "Getting girls to fight you battles now for you, Malfoy? And I thought you were better than that." His sarcasm was thick on his words, coating them in lies.

I snarled, taking a step towards him and balling my hand into a fist. I felt somewhat satisfied when he took a small step back. "You have _no_ idea who you're talking to, Weasley!"

Potter raised one eyebrow which only made me want to wipe that stupid look of his face more . . . with my fist.

"Your future wives?" He questioned smugly, letting a small smirk creep up on his face.

At that point I was absolutely furious! How dare these fools say anything of this sort to Eris and Andromeda? Had they no idea what powers they behead? What royal linage they had? No, of course they didn't, but I was sure if they did they'd go running.

Eris took a delicate step forward, "I'm sorry, how rude of us not to introduce ourselves." She beckoned for Andromeda to step forward and join her, "This is my good friend, Andromeda Lestrange." Andromeda's giggle was touched by her slight insanity, making the laugh creepier than it was intended to be. Eris held out a hand, "And I'm Eris. Eris Riddle, perhaps you know my father? Tom?" Eris smiled pleasantly at them, but her voice and eyes were as cold as stone.

No one said a word, but Potter brought a trembling hand up to his forehead. I smirked; finally there was someone that would shut these losers up.

"You." Weasley stated before backing up and heading down the empty hallway with the rest of his friends closely in tow.

Eris was silent for a while until turning to Andromeda and me, "I think that went well."

**Tada! So next chapter will be in Harry's prospective, or at least one of them from his group. I hope you noticed how Malfoy's speech got plainer and plainer as the chapter continued. This is supposed to signify the fact that he is getting more comfortable with most of what's happening.**

**R&R PLEASE.**

**Thanks,**

**XsoulessXgingerX**


	5. Anger with Enthusiasm

Harry rubbed his forehead and groaned. Even in the library the silence didn't help his headache. Ron looked up from his book that he was skimming to look at Harry, "You know if the assignment's bothering you that much, mate, just do what I do." I pointed a finger to the girl sitting next to him. "Copy from Hermione." She glared from behind her studies.

Harry shook his head slowly, "It's not that." He said, bringing his hand to his scar again and pausing, letting his thoughts go for a moment. When he came to he turned himself in his chair to look at the other two intensely, "You don't think she was serious, do you?"

Ron and Hermione shot worried glances at each other and Hermione spoke up, "She seemed rather serious Harry, don't you think?" She paused for a moment and pulled something from her paper. It was just a crumpled piece of paper and Harry wrinkled his brow in confusion.

Hermione sighed and unfolded it, "I was sort of doing a little snooping, and I found this in Professor McGonagall's desk."

Ron almost choked on his own spit, "You did what? Hermione Granger, stealing from a teacher? I highly doubt that."

Hermione shot him daggers, "Not stealing. Simply barrowing. I'll put it back where I found it."

"Just tell me what it says!" Harry snapped irritably. This headache was starting to get on his nerves.

Hermione looked taken aback, but she read it anyway.

**Dear Professor McGonagall,**

**I am intrigued to say that two new Slytherin students will be joining us this year at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Their backgrounds and linage have been disclosed to you. I have asked you to not utter their last names in front of the class to protect their identities and start any trouble on school grounds. Please try your best to treat them just as normal students. They are not at fault for what their families have done to our world. I ask you, however, to keep a close eye on them while they are at this school. Make sure they do not miss curfew or their academic grades start to go on.**

** Thank you,**

**Albus Dumbledore**

Hermione looked up from the letter to look at Harry, who was again rubbing his forehead. "Underneath it, it says their names. Eris Riddle and Andromeda Lestrange." She paused and reached across Ron to put a hand on Harry's shoulder, but he pulled away. "I'm sorry, Harry, but they weren't lying." She frowned and tucked the letter back into her pocket.

Ron slammed his book bag down furiously. "How could Dumbledore allow this?" He whispered furiously to his friends, "Has he gone completely nutter?"

Harry looked down at the table, "He's a great wizard, Ron, if he's done this then there must be a good reason for it."

Ron sat back in his chair, not listening to a word he said. This was ridiculous, there was danger brewing up and he knew it. Nothing was going right this year for him! He threw his stupid potions book in his bag and huffed. He hadn't wanted to take potions in the first place, and now he was stuck in the same class as Malfoy and two death eaters!

"Ron, there's nothing you can do." Hermione told him and Harry nodded in agreement.

"Nothing we can do?" He roared and threw his chair back as he stood back, "You're just going to sit here and do nothing? In case you've forgotten You-Know-Who killed your parents, Harry! Not to mention that he almost killed my dad last year! And Bellatrix Lestrange killed Sirius, and she tortured Neville's parents to the brink of insanity with a forbidden curse. I don't know about you two, but I'm not just going to sit around until someone else gets hurt, or worse, killed! Who's next, Ginny?"

With that he angrily strode from the room, librarians glaring after him.

"Yes, I remember." Harry whispered quietly, just loud enough for Hermione to hear and she drew him into a tight hug.

"Come on," She told him and pulled him to his feet, "You need something to eat. You have a quidditch match in less than an hour." She began to pull him from the room.

"Er, Hermione, I think you dropped something."

She spun around to see Neville pick up the crumpled piece of paper from the ground. She gasped silently to herself as she realized it was the letter from McGonagall's office.

"Oh thanks, Neville." She said as she reached for it, but he had already begun to read it.

"What's this? A study guide for Snape's assignment tomorrow? Can I barrow it?"

"Actually it's sort of private," She said as she made another grab for it, but Neville held it just out of her reach and began to read it.

In seconds, his face was as still as stone and as bright red as a tomato. He threw the note on the ground and kicked over the nearest thing he found, a priceless vase which instantly shattered.

"No." He said quietly, clenching his fists. "This is not happening."

"Neville," Harry said, pulling the bigger boy to the floor and holding him down. "Neville!" He said again. "Listen to me!"

"I'm gonna kill her, Harry, I'm gonna kill her for what her mum did to my parents." His muscles relaxed for a few moments before he started jerking around under Harry's grasp. "I'm fucking going to kill her! And I'll kill you too if you don't get off me!" He spat.

Harry just forced his wrists against the ground and started to yell back, "She killed Sirius too Neville! You think I'm not upset? You think I'm not angry?"

Neville struggled against Harry and spoke a little softer, "Sirius died, Harry! You may have nothing left, but my parents are still alive! I can fight for them."

With that Harry loosened his grip and stood up, taking a step back.

Neville pulled himself to his feet and reached out towards him, "I didn't mean that, Harry. God, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that."

Harry glared and pulled his wand from his pocket, pointing it at Neville, "That's a lie!"

"Harry, no!" Hermione yelled. _"Expelliarmus!" _She yelled, catching Harry off guard. Neville took the distraction as an excuse and ran through the doors, a frightened look on his face.

At this point all the students had cleared out from the library, other than the little librarian who was franticly trying to scramble for the door, but had lost her spectacles on the way towards the hallway."

McGonagall burst through the door and Hermione quickly stuck the letter in her pocket to keep her from seeing it.

"What is going on here?" She asked in a serious tone, "Mr. Longbottom just ran past me in the corridor like He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was chasing him!"

"Pretty close." Hermione said, shooting a glance at Harry who just glared back at her in a mingled look of hate and disgust.

"30 points from Gryffindor." McGonagall said to the both of them. "Each. And I'll see you in detention for the rest of the week. I expected better of you Mr. Potter, and especially of you, Ms. Granger."

Hermione hung her head in shame, but kept her mouth shut.

Harry waited for McGonagall to leave the room before walking lamely over to Hermione. He held his hand out, "My wand." He said and beckoned for it.

Hermione looked into his eyes reluctantly, but handed it over without hesitation.

"You're becoming him, Harry, this is exactly what he wants. Don't let him do it his way. Did you see Neville's face?" She looked at him worriedly.

Harry said nothing for a few moments, "I can't believe you just said that."

With that he rushed from the room without another word.

Hermione stood wordlessly in her place before she heard a snide voice interrupt her thoughts from behind her, "Good job, Granger," It said, "I'll remember your technique next time when I get tired of my friends.

Draco Malfoy stepped out from one of the bookshelves and smirked at her.

**Ooh cliffy **** Thanks for reading! Next chapter will probably will be half and half Harry and Draco pov.**

**R&R please**

**XsoulessXgingerX**


	6. To know I'm human

**Sorry to keep anyone waiting (if any of you are still here) But I procrastinate a lot XD**

**So here it is, a bit darker than last time because I'm finally getting into Draco's past and deep thoughts/feelings (yes guys do feel, I was surprised too)**

**And I still don't own anything, unfortunately **

Draco's POV

"Good job, Granger. I'll remember your technique next time when I get tired of my friends." I smirked at my own remark. The mudblood had it coming though, insulting the damn boy-who-lived and the dark lord in the same sentence. I suppose perhaps I should have felt pity towards her and the way she tried desperately to keep her three way friendship with Potter and Weasley intact. I couldn't quite relate to her. I'd never really had real friends until Andromeda and Eris showed up by some miracle. Crabbe and Goyle were too thick to carry out a descent conversation with, although they were skilled at fallowing me around, and Pansy had turned out to be more of girl to fool around with than a real relationship.

Coming back from my thoughts, Granger spun to face me, her expression of sorrow catching me off guard. I couldn't remember if I've ever seen her upset, or perhaps I just didn't care to notice. Granger wasn't exactly the ugliest I'd ever lay eyes on, her frizzy afro she called hair had smoothed out since the first time I'd seen her, and her sense in style had improved at least a little bit. But she was a mudblood, and somehow it was just drilled into my brain of how dirty, how wrong they were. Even if I tried, I just couldn't see her as a regular person, I saw her as I saw muggles, filth.

A small tear rolled down her cheek, but I stayed emotionless. I couldn't have felt pity for her if I had tried. That's what you get when you make friends with the train wreck, Harry Potter. Her eyebrows narrowed into an emotion I'd seen way too many times, angry, frustration, hatred. It brought me back to Malfoy Manor, standing in front of my father, waiting for him to say something, anything to kill the silence around me. But then when he started yelling, or even when he would hit me, I longed for the silence once more.

"Malfoy," Granger spat, "Don't you have better things to do than spy on Gryffindors? Puppies to torture? First years heads to stuff down the toilet? Are you all out of biddings to do for your father already?"

I smirked, "We're not on first name bases yet, _Hermionie_? I'm hurt; I thought our friendship had really gotten somewhere. I thought we'd gotten past this."

Granger seemed slightly taken aback by my using her first name, it gave me somewhat satisfaction. Malfoy: **1 **Granger: **0**

"You mean our daily game of cat and mouse where you call me a mudblood, I make fun of the fact that you probably don't have a soul, or a heart for that matter, and then we go on with our lives. If that's what defines a friendship, _Draco, _the maybe you'd actually have friends." She stepped forward, a scowl planted on her face in stone. Malfoy: **1** Granger: **1**

"Nice, Granger, but last time I checked, I had two of the most powerful witches in the wizarding world. And what, your two boyfriends have a fight or something, is that why they ran away crying. I thought better of you, mudblood." Oh, dropping the mbomb. Malfoy: **2** Granger: **1**

Granger blew air out of her nose, taking another step in my direction. I could see that I'd hit a nerve. I flinched back out of reflex and Granger noticed my moment of weakness, although she didn't falter. "You know what, Malfoy," Her rage exploded like a curse in my face, "Walking around the halls of this school with you-know-who's daughter shouldn't be something to be proud of. And I'm sure she's done things far worse than you could ever imagine with a father like that. You've had such an easy life compared to people like Harry. You're babied by your mum and dad. You won't get anywhere in the real world. You brought yourself into it. You'll grow up to be exactly like your father, exactly as bitter and exactly as cruel, if you even live to be as old as him, judging on the fact that your _kind_ aren't exactly insured are you, in your line of work."

Her words stung, they'd pierced the inner part of my thoughts, a place where I don't allow people, and rarely myself to explore. For once I had nothing to say, maybe because partially I know she was dead wrong, but on the other hand I knew just how much truth her words held in them. That fact alone scared me. I had nothings to say for once, I was utterly speechless. So I stood there like a blundering idiot while she stalked off. Malfoy: **0 **Granger: **5**

I made my way from the library not long after she had, as soon as I reached the fourth floor bathroom I was sick and threw up the contents of everything I'd eaten that day. I struggled my way to a sink and washed my face with cool water. The mirror revealed the things I didn't want to see. Dark circles had built themselves around my eyes and my complexion was paler than I remembered it. This frustrated me more than anything: that some stupid mudblood could have such a deep affect on me. My deep grey eyes pierced my reflection. I wasn't even wearing robes today, just a dress shirt and pants and my green tie hung loosely around my neck.

I sudden shiver hovered down my spine as a rash thought entered my head. I dug through my deep pants pocket until my fingers felt something familiar. I pulled out a razor blade, a common muggle object I suppose. And I rolled up my sleeve. All the other scars had faded by now, cutting wasn't one of my proudest habits. But it made me feel alive, reminded me that there was real blood flowing through my body, and how pure it was, no matter how many times my father compared me to a mudblood. It cleared my mind of things, sent the blood rushing to a different part of my body for a change.

I drew the blade across my wrists. Once, only once. That's all I needed, I didn't want any more. The pain was dull, nothing like I've felt in the past. Barely any blood spilled into the sink of the bathroom.

This pain was nothing like the cruciatus curse. It had sent the pain coursing through my body so many times that you just want to give in, you just want to die. The curse shoots down your limbs, sets ever joint, ever bone, every tissue, every muscle in your body on fire. The burning puts pressure on your body, as if your body is being ripped apart. The worst part is that you can't see it. It feels like someone's ripping your skin open like tissue paper, fiber by fiber, as slow as possible. And yet there's no blood, nothing to prove once and for all that you've felt what you've felt. It's almost like you imagine the pain, yet no sane person could imagine a pain so great.

I'd only had the curse performed on me once. It was the summer after my fifth year at Hogwarts. For months my father talked about 'handing me over to the dark lord. He said he'd be so much prouder once I'd finally joined him. I was scared, hell I'll admit it, I was dead scared. Everything I'd seen of this dark lord wasn't something I thought I'd be proud of. So I ran.

I didn't exactly know where to go, or what I'd do when I got there, but I took my wand and got out. I just couldn't handle it anymore. He found me though, like I knew he would. One out of place kid in the middle of muggle London wasn't too hard to get his hands on.

It was the most pain I've ever felt in a life time, although the receiving the dark mark was a close second. Two minutes he put me under it, two whole bloody minutes. I thought the whole time of how much I wanted to die, how much peace I'd be in then, how much happier me and everyone else would be after I was gone. I'd never screamed so loud in my life.

By this time the blood coming out of my wrist has begun to slow a bit, and I'm almost ready to leave when I hear the bathroom door open behind me. I freeze, a look of terror overtaking my face.

"Malfoy?"

I don't need to turn around, don't even need to look through the mirror to see who's standing there. It's unmistakable, Harry Potter, the golden boy. _Oh joy._

"Malfoy, are you ok?"

"Why would you care?" I spit between clenched teeth. Harsh.

His worried expression turned to the scowl that I knew so well, "Fine, forget it."

I turn to push past him to the door, I don't need boy wonder questioning me all day. What the fuck does he know anyway? I keep my wrist as far away from him as possible. Although I wouldn't be surprised if he could smell the blood, since he can do anything. Sarcasm. Hurts, doesn't it?

"Malfoy your bleeding." Potter speaks up as I'm about to leave.

I look back to see him glancing at my wrist, then at the blood I'd left in the sink. "Bug off, Potter." And with that I make a swift exit into the hall, covering my new wound with my other hand as I head down the long hallway and towards the slytherin common rooms. I go against the crowd on the way there, knocking down smaller kids that get in my way.

I hadn't seen Eris in a while, and strangely I longed for her company. I'd gone all these years while going it alone and suddenly I meet someone worth knowing and everything changes. I quickly wash off the cut in the sink and pull my sleeve back over it, I don't need anyone questioning me on things that they don't need to know about.

I sit on my bed placed at the far corner of the doors when an owl flies to my window. He hoots softly, dropping a letter on my lap and taking off again back from the way he came. I gulp nervously, letters are always a bad sign, always something from home, and always meaning something bad has happened.

Tearing open the envelope, I find a piece of parchment inside, on Lucius's elegant script is scrawled upon it. Short and to the point. It reads:

_Draco,_

_The Dark Lord sends a message to you. Neither you nor his daughter have been in touch since you have arrived at Hogwarts. Because of this, we can only assume that things are going according to plan, however is seems as though you may have forgotten exactly what you should be doing. I'll take this as a sign of weakness, son. I will be making a short trip to your school on business _(business, that never meant anything good) _I expect to see everything running smoothly, or there will be punishment. You mother sends her love. Do not disappoint me._

_Lucius_

No love, no sincerely, no nothing, just Lucius.

**Alright so please R&R and tell me what you thought. I tried to make it more interesting, I don't know how that worked out :P**

**XsoulessXgingerX**


	7. And Then My Troubles Began

**Still don't own Harry Potter **

**Hope you enjoy this chapter, sorry for the wait. I decided I was going to switch through first person instead of going to third because it's easier for me. Enjoy ;D**

**Draco**

Blood was rushing through my veins, past my head, and flooding into my brain. My brain cells were drowning. Here of all places. Father was coming here and as soon as he made note of my unmoving progress, he'd take pain to a whole new level. I shortened my breaths, trying to get a grip. _Come on, Draco._ I told myself. _He can't punish you if you've done nothing wrong._ Yet it seemed as though I'd done nothing right either.

And then there was Potter. Oh God, Potter, just another worthless bloody person that I'd have to worry about. I ground my teeth as I stared at my bare feet scanning the floor. I'd screwed it all up again, so I guess I'd have to fix it. A strategy. That's exactly what we needed. And to be calm and think about this rationally. Take care of Potter first, make sure he didn't see anything, and if he did, convince him otherwise, physically, if I had to. Blowing air through my nostrils, I closed my eyes. God, why couldn't this just be over? Why couldn't I have been born into some poor family like Weasley's or be an orphan like Potter? _Because then I'd have people like me to deal with. _I reminded myself solemnly. At least in the Malfoy family I had respect.

I stared at the clock. The day was almost over. I wasn't sure when Father was planning on making his visit, but I was sure that it'd be soon. With that thought in my head, I began to tidy my bed as much as I could, pulling old books and cloths under the bed and stowing as much as would fit into my suitcase. _This'll all be over soon._

**Harry**

I searched through my brain, trying to make sense of the things that had just happened. Out of the bathroom sink, I picked up a razor blade. _No._ I thought. Malfoy and his arm. No, it couldn't be. I just couldn't. Malfoy was too high and proud to even know what cutting was. It was a muggle thing, for muggles who didn't know how to deal otherwise. And I was sure that Malfoy knew nothing of it. I was almost sure.

Even so, I made my way to the common room, inspecting the finely sized space, scanning for either Ron or Hermione. Our fight had left us somewhat broken, but we'd talked it out after McGonagall had said if we didn't then she'd make us sit in detention for three hours. I understood why Ron had reacted the way he did, I just felt bad for the way I'd treated Hermione.

I found both my friends, talking quietly amongst themselves near the fire; I wasn't slow to join them. I was happy to see that we exchanged warm glances and awkward smiles.

"I need to talk to you guys about something."

"What's up, mate?" Asked Ron, sitting forward to be closer to the crackling flame.

I pulled the razor blade out of my pocket and held it up. Hermione raised her eyebrow.

"It's not mine, don't worry." I stated, holding my hand up in submission. "But, it's Malfoy's."

Ron's face became that of utter disgust and Hermione's eyes widened in an odd way, as if she knew something I didn't.

"I met him in the bathroom, he nearly took my arm off when he tried to get my me for the door. And there's another thing." I looked both of them in the eye. "His arm was bleeding."

Hermione looked straight at me with innocent eyes, "You don't think . . .?" She paused. "I mean, it's Malfoy.

"I don't know what to think," I sighed.

"That's just bloody sick." Ron through in, his gaze distant. "I mean, this is Malfoy we're talking about. Soulless, heartless, cold, unfeeling Malfoy. He doesn't feel emotion."

"Hey, I'm with you there." I said. "I just want to get to the bottom of this. I mean isn't it kind of dangerous to be playing with things like this."

Hermione turned to look at me with a guilty look written upon her face. "After you guys left the library, he came to talk to me. He'd been listening to us talk and all that. I was so angry, I don't know maybe it was nothing. But he was just being plain old Malfoy, so I insulted him back. I just made a few comments about his family, is all. And then he was literally speechless, I mean I've never seen him without something to say. Not even a, my father will hear about this. Nothing. So I left, I don't know what happened after that. You don't think it was because of me, do you?" Her expression was mixed fear now.

"No," Said Ron, "Look it's bad and all and whatever, but whatever his issues are, they're not your fault. If I was around You-Know-Who's daughter all day, I think I'd be cutting myself too."

We were quiet for a while after that.

"You know," Ron started up again. My dad did a study on teenage muggles once. This was sort of part of it. It was weird. He said that in a lot of cases he saw it was because of stress from making a really big choice or getting something done, but he said the most common thing he found was that the muggles had a bad home life. Like, the death of a loved one, fighting with siblings, or abuse."

Again there was silence.

I looked at Ron with a wandering gaze, but I wasn't sure what to say. Word would have gotten out if a Malfoy died and he was an only child. I was certain it wasn't abuse, I mean look at the bastard. So what stress could he possibly be under? I rubbed my temples, letting confusion surround me once more.

**Malfoy**

It didn't take me long to find Andromeda and Eris. Honestly, to me they stuck out of the crowd. Maybe other couldn't tell because they didn't know them like I did. They had this air about them, as if they were highly important, but I thought it was even easier to notice the darkness that floated around them. Perhaps people who serve the Dark Lord just give off that vibe to me now when I'm around them. Wonderful.

Eris greeted me with a smile and a kiss, diving under my arm to get close to me. I never thought I'd see strong feelings like this from her. And the way we had just sort of dived into a relationship didn't help settle these thoughts. Yet I looked down on her with such a fondness that it was hard to ignore her beautiful icy eyes staring up at me, taking up most of the space in my brain, occupying me with her beautiful being.

I snapped myself from these thoughts to speak suddenly. "My father will be coming." I said abruptly.

Andromeda's head snapped to attention, her gaze piercing me. "Why?" She asked, giving me a suspicious look.

"To check up on us." I said with a look of disgust. "Father doubts that we're doing our jobs right, if we're doing them at all."

Eris looked up at me quizzically. "I don't need checking up on. My father owns him; he knows that I can take care of myself."

"Exactly." I pointed out, "If he's coming, that means that the Dark Lord sent him. Putting it in light terms, we're royally screwed if even your father thinks we can't get squat done on our own." I looked down at my shoes.

With this Eris's face scrunched up with anger, but it soon smoothed out again. "Then we'll make sure that he leaves satisfied. Don't worry, Draco, we're not doing anything wrong. We'll prove to him that we've got everything under control." Her pleasant smile consoled me. Yet inside, I was suffocating in my own troubles.

**Alright, so that's all I've got. R&R **

**XsoulessXgingerX**


	8. Time to Talk

**Why can't I own any of the brilliance?**

**Alright, so here's another chapter. Hope you guys enjoy it, all angsty Draco :D**

**Draco**

The hours ticked by like mere minutes. Truth was, I was terrified. My whole life I'd been looking up to a person that I once called a father and all I had to look back on was the rising fear that I always felt when I was around him. Other than the Dark Lord, he was one of the only few people that I hated to be around. I could never truly please him, and when I finally did, it was short-lived. I would have taken anybody else to fulfill his place.

It was the morning of and Dumbledore told me that my father was waiting for me in Snape's office. By now, my heart was no longer just there to pump my blood through my system, but instead rose in my throat and choked the breath from my system. Why did this crap always have to happen to me? Wasn't there anyone else who had a family like mine? Or had to suffer through half the stuff that I had to?

The long walk to the dungeons made me sick with worry and my stomach churned with acid. When I arrived, he was waiting for me, smiling politely, his robes were clean and straight, his shoes were shined. Why couldn't I be more like him?

"Draco," He greeted me, putting a hand on my shoulder, "I trust all is going well?"

"You wouldn't really believe that, would you. Otherwise you wouldn't be here, right?" My voice was cold and edgy, I hoped he wouldn't notice. He did.

"Don't address me with that tone, boy. I'm here for your own good, not of my own accord. I merely want to see how everything is going. I am to report back to the dark lord as soon as possible."

His tone was threatening so I backed up a couple steps. "It's a slow process," I told him, trying hard not to break contact with his cold, grey eyes, "You can't expect us to kill a man in a month **(yeah, I know, time flies, sorry I had to speed it up a little)**, can you?

My father gripped his staff tight and stood tall, "I expect you to get the job done and not give me back talk or a sob story." He paces slightly. "He only asks something simple of you, something you should be able to handle with all the effort he's taken to send his very own daughter with you. And I also expect you not to disappoint me for once. Honestly, Draco, would it be far too much to ask for you to make me a proud father for just once? Would it be too much to ask for you not to embarrass me in front of the Dark Lord?"

I snapped then, "You'd like that, wouldn't you? To have me regain that honor that you lost so long ago. You think I can get you more respect with the Death Eaters. That's pathetic."

He backhanded be across the face, "You'll hold your tongue, you little brat, and you'll do as your told, or the consequences will be worse than you've ever imagined."

I held my cheek and glared up at him. "What, worse than my own father beating the shit out of me?"

He grabbed me by the collar, holding me close and hissing in my ear, "Far worse."

With that he was gone, apparating away again, and leaving me to talk to myself, my breath heavy in my chest. I sank to the floor, putting my head in my hands. What had I done? If I didn't do what he said, he'd kill me, or worse. His threats really got me.

There was a scuffle in the corner and I jumped to my fight. "Who's there?" I yell, bringing my wand from my pocket. "_Lumos." _I whisper, creeping, around the dungeon. I swept the whole room, but all I found was a rat scrounging for food in the corner. I put on a face of disgust and kicked a rock at it so it would flee.

I sighed to myself and made my way up to the castle. _You're going crazy, Draco._ I thought to myself.

**Harry**

I held my breath as I watched the scene before me unfold. Why'd I have to come down to the dungeons today looking for Snape?

"You'd like that, wouldn't you? To have me regain that honor that you lost so long ago. You think I can get you more respect with the Death Eaters. That's pathetic." Draco's eyes were flaring with fury as he stood in front of his dad.

I couldn't believe he stood up to Lucius like that. I always thought Draco to generally be really weak. I especially thought that he did everything his dear daddy told him to do. This conversation had throwing me off dramatically. One thing I'd learned, which came to no surprise to me, was that Draco was in involved with the dark arts just like his father was. What I wasn't getting was: who were they trying to kill? I squirmed under the invisibility blanket, engulfed with somewhat of panic. Was I witnessing a murder in progress right now? Dark arts were working here.

"You'll hold your tongue, you little brat, and you'll do as your told, or the consequences will be worse than you've ever imagined."

Wait, had Lucius Malfoy just backhanded his own son? Impossible. They always had such a good relationship. Draco did whatever he was told and Lucius spoiled him like the prat he was. Unless things had changed, or unless things were not as they seemed in public. No, I was sure nothing was wrong, no one that snobbish could actually have feelings, or problems for that matter. My mind was whirling, what the hell was going on here.

"What, worse than my own father beating the shit out of me?" Draco sneered at his father.

What! Come again? Did he just say what I thought he said? Ok, now I was seriously confused. What the hell is happening?

Lucius grabbed his son by the collar and drew him closer, I tensed up, not sure what exactly was happening.

"Far worse."

As soon as he apparated, Malfoy collapsed onto the floor. Was he crying?

I tried to move towards the exit, but slipped and caught myself on the wall, with a slapping noise. I held my breath, hoping that Malfoy hadn't heard, but of course he did. After looking around with his wand for a few minutes, he left again and I exhaled. That was way too close.

I waited a minute, and then sprinted towards the steps, tucking the invisibility cloak under my arm. I had to talk to Ron and Hermione. Now.

I almost tripped back down the stairs when a figure grabbed me by the collar. It was Snape.

"Mr. Potter," He started, dragging out the mister part, "What do you think you're doing down here?"

I hesitated, trying to come up with the best excuse I had. "Looking for you, Professor! Um, you see, I was hoping that I could retake the test you gave out last week. I wasn't feeling quite right that day."

He stared me down for a good minute. "Mr. Potter, as you very well know, I don't let students retake tests." He paused. "What's under your arm?"

"N-nothing, Professor."

"Let me see it."

"Actually, I really have to get back to upstairs, I have a lot of assignments to finish."

"Well then give me what you have under your arm and I'll let you go on you merry way."

Again, I hesitated, looking deep into his black eyes.

"Now, Mr. Potter."

I had no choice; I gave him the cloak, and after receiving one more menacing look, ran to the common room. I was completely out of breath when I arrived there. Panting, I scanned around the room quickly. All I found was Hermione, reading a book in the corner.

"Hermione!" I yelled, catching the attention of many other people in the room and sprinted over to her. "We need to talk. Now!"

**Thanks for reading R&R**

**XsoulessXgingerX**


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